Michigan head coach Juwan Howard says Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon charging at him sparked a heated exchange that led to Howard being ejected from Friday’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals game.
During the second half’s under-12 TV timeout, Howard and Turgeon exchanged words. Howard had to be held back by a several Michigan assistants before he received double techs and was ejected from the game.
Howard explained how him coming out of the coach’s box to dispute an out of bounds call led to the exchange.
Turgeon, who spoke to the media before Howard after the game, said all he said to Howard was “Don’t talk to me.”
He also explained there has been tension among the two Big Ten programs going back to their two regular season meetings.
Turgeon added he previously informed the league office and conference commissioner Kevin Warren about issues with Howard and Michigan.
Without audio confirmation it’s no telling what was actually said. However, the video of the confrontation it does appear Turgeon moved towards Howard first.
Howard did apologize for his reaction.
Michigan led Maryland 57-47 with 11:20 remaining in the game at the time of the confrontation. The top-seeded Wolverines went on an 8-0 shortly after losing its head coach en route to a 79-66 win to advance in the Big Ten Tournament.
